1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air flow deflectors for motor vehicles and, more particularly, to an air flow deflector mounted on a snow plow blade supported by a motor vehicle to direct an air flow stream towards the vehicle radiator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Snow plow blades are commonly mounted on the front of motor vehicles, such as a truck or Jeep.RTM., for conducting snow plowing operations and are very popular in geographical areas which receive a great deal of snow. Although the front mounting of the snow plow blade has many advantages when plowing snow, it has a major drawback when being carried in a non-plowing or transport position. In a transport position, the snow plow blade is typically aligned in front of the vehicle, blocking the air flow to the vehicle radiator. Since an air flow through the radiator is necessary to cool the water flowing through its coils, this blockage of the air flow frequently causes the vehicle to overheat, particularly on warmer days. Overheating of the motor vehicle can result in damage to the internal parts of the vehicle.
Numerous air flow detectors have previously been devised to reduce the drag of air flowing against frontal surfaces of a vehicle carrying a snow plow blade or to redirect the flow of air. However, these deflectors are often ineffective in providing sufficient air flow to the vehicle's engine, are complex in construction, difficult to use and expensive to manufacture and maintain.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,434 to Calvachio, Jr. discloses an air flow deflector for a snow plow mounted on a motor vehicle which includes a deflector fin for deflecting air flow against the radiator of the motor vehicle. The deflector fin includes a main body having an upper surface, a lower surface and opposite side surfaces. A mounting arrangement is provided for mounting the deflector fin in adjustable angular relation to a top surface of the snow plow and in spaced relation to the top surface of the snow plow so as to define an air flow passage therebetween. An arrangement is also provided for releasably fixing the orientation of the deflector fin with respect to the mounting arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,653 to Pease et al. discloses an arcuate foil located above a snowplow vehicle's moldboard at a preselected distance according to the size and shape of the plow. It is built into or attached to the snowplow for the purpose of capturing and controlling the snow particles coming over the top of the moldboard. A belt is attached to the top margin of the moldboard. The front edge of the foil is projected forward and above the top margin of the moldboard. The foil directs the snow particles and air from an upward direction to a downward direction as the snow particles and air are passing over and through the foil. The patented invention also prevents or reduces the amount of dust, snow and other debris that is normally present between the front end of the snowplow vehicle and the back side of the moldboard from being blown into the plow vehicle. In a conventional snowplow, reduced pressure is created at the back side of the moldboard as the plow vehicle moves along a road. This causes suction and the greater the speed the greater the suction. This suction normally causes debris immediately behind the moldboard to be lifted off the ground and blown into the vehicle. By providing a downward flow of air between the moldboard and the vehicle, the Pease et al. patent claims to prevent this from happening.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,915 to Morandi et al. discloses a wind deflector for a snow plow on a motor vehicle that has a plow pump bar and a radiator. The deflector includes a deflecting plate mounted on the pump bar such that when the plow is in position the deflecting plate will deflect air from above the plow down behind the plow and into the radiator of the motor vehicle to prevent overheating. In a modification, an elongated funnel shaped deflecting housing is mounted to the top of the plow in place of the deflecting plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,750 to Larson discloses an air scoop mountable on a snow plow blade to direct air towards the vehicle radiator when the snow plow blade is being carried in a transport position. The air scoop arrangement includes an air channeling member having an air engaging wail and a pair of side wails extending from opposite edges of the air stream engaging wall. The air channeling member is mounted on an upper end of the snow plow blade with most of the air engaging wail projecting above the upper end of the snow plow blade. When the vehicle is being driven down the road, the channeling member is said to engage a portion of the air blowing over the snow plow blade and direct it towards the vehicle radiator.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,947 to Peitl discloses a snow deflector for directing the snow blown over a snowplow blade into the ground, away from the vehicle operator's line of vision. More specifically, an elongated member extends in generally parallel spaced relationship above the top edge of the blade and has a cross sectional configuration such as to cause a flow of air downwardly from the lop of the blade and between the back side of the blade and the front end of the propelling vehicle. The cross-sectional shape may be as desired but in the preferred embodiment is generally slightly curved from the leading edge to the trailing edge, with the leading edge sloping downwardly and rearwardly at a 20.degree. angle to the trailing edge at a 60.degree. angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,085,996 to Phillips discloses a deflector used on snow plows which prevents the wind from blowing the snow on the radiator or onto the windshield. It is designed to direct down towards the ground the wind that strikes against the moldboard of the snow plow. The patent recognizes that prior to the disclosed invention, drivers of snow plow vehicles can experience great difficulty in steering because of the snow that is blown up over the moldboard onto the windshield, often completely covering the windshield in a very few minutes and thereby obstructing the vision of the driver; that also, the snow is often blown onto the radiator of the automobile thereby interfering with the circulation of the water in the radiator and causing the water in the radiator to boil.
It was with knowledge of the foregoing state of the technology that the present invention has been conceived and is now reduced to practice. None of these known constructions employs a downwardly facing air intake which intercepts the upward flow of air which develops on the front surface of the snow plow blade, then redirects the flow of air rearwardly toward the radiator of the motor vehicle for cooling the water flowing through the coils of the radiator.